Are 3D virtual environments better than 2D interfaces in serious games performance? An explorative study for the assessment of executive functions

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Applied Neuropsychology: Adult on 05/09/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/23279095.2019.1607735[EN] Executive functions refer to higher-order cognitive processes that supervise and guide goaldirected and adaptive behaviors in response to everyday situations. The traditional measures used to assess executive functions include paper-and-pencil tests and/or computerized tests that have been found to have a moderate level of ecological validity in predicting real-world performance. Serious games (SG) represent a novel methodological approach, allowing investigating subjects¿ performance in real-simulated situations. Serious games are computer games whose primary purposes include investigating human behaviors and changes. Furthermore, SG can also vary according to the technology used and the interaction. Indeed, a SG can be rendered via a nonimmersive screen-based (2D) or via an immersive virtual reality game (3D). Starting from these premises, we compared a narrativecontextualized SG in 2D and 3D, correlating them with traditional tests. Findings showed different condition correlations with the traditional tasks and the comparison between the two systems have revealed that 3D is able to generate lower reaction times, higher correct answers, and lower perseverative responses in attentional abilities, inhibition control, and cognitive shifting than 2D condition. The present study yielded evidence on the use of more ecological tools to identify the functional cognitive status in real-simulated contexts along with traditional evaluation.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness funded project Advanced Therapeutically Tools for Mental Health (DPI2016-77396-R).Chicchi-Giglioli, IA.; Juan-Ripoll, CD.; Parra Vargas, E.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. 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Chapter 1

Experimenting is fundamental to the training process of all scientists and engineers. While experiments have been traditionally done inside laboratories, the emergence of Information and Communication Technologies added two alter-natives accessible anytime, anywhere. These two alternatives are known as virtual and remote labs, and are sometimes indistinguishably referred as online labs. Sim-ilarly to other instructional technologies, virtual and remote labs require some ef-fort from teachers in integrating them into curricula, taking into consideration sev-eral factors that affect their adoption (i.e. cost) and their educational effectiveness (i.e. benefit). This chapter analyses these two dimensions and sustains the case where only through international cooperation it is possible to serve the large num-ber of teachers and students involved in engineering education. It presents an ex-ample in the area of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, based on a remote lab named Virtual Instruments System in Reality, and it then describes how a number of European and Latin-American institutions have been cooperating under the scope of an Erasmus+ project2, for spreading its use in Brazil and Argentina.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Virtual reality-based assessment and rating scales in ADHD diagnosis

The diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is mainly based on structured scales, such as Conners’ ADHD Rating Scale (EDAH in the Spanish version) and DSM interviews. The use of technologies in neuropsychological assessment, such as the AULA virtual reality based test leads to more accurate diagnosis. The current study presents findings from analyzing the external validity of AULA and its contribution to the diagnosis of ADHD. Four hundred and seven children (272 girls and 135 boys) from 6 to 16 years old (213 with ADHD diagnosis, 105 inattentive children, 108 combined-type, and 194 controls) were evaluated. First, a factor analysis of AULA variables was conducted in order to reduce data to factor and 5 factors or components that account for 82.37% of the total variance were obtained from 407 subjects, namely, sustained attention, impulsivity control, processing speed, response variability, and control of motor activity. Second, a discriminant analysis was then performed on data obtained by participants from whom the five factors were obtained, showing that AULA presents moderate levels of both specificity and sensitivity. Finally, in order to study whether AULA adds relevant information in the diagnosis of ADHD, a cluster analysis was carried out, showing 4 clusters in the analysis of conglomerates with the control group and 6 groups of clusters in the ADHD group. In summary, AULA test shows adequate external validity, allows correct classification of children with and without attentional problems, and confirms and provides additional ADHD diagnostic information that it is essential for the design of interventions.El diagnóstico del trastorno por déficit de atención y/o hiperactividad (TDAH) se basa principalmente en escalas estructuradas, como la escala de Conners (validada en España con el nombre de EDAH), y entrevistas basadas en los criterios recogidos en el DSM. El uso de las nuevas tecnologías en el proceso de evaluación neuropsicológica, como el Test de Atención de Realidad Virtual AULA, proporciona información rigurosa que conduce a diagnósticos más precisos. En este contexto, el objetivo del presente estudio es proporcionar evidencias acerca de la validez externa del test AULA, un test que mejora la precisión diagnóstica del TDAH. La muestra estuvo formada por 407 niños (272 niños y 135 niñas) de entre 6 y 16 años del norte de España (213 niños tenían un diagnóstico de TDAH, 105 desatentos, 108 de tipo combinado y 194 fueron niños controles). En primer lugar se realizó un análisis factorial exploratorio, que puso de manifiesto una estructura formada por cinco factores (atención sostenida, control de la impulsividad, velocidad de procesamiento, variabilidad de respuesta y control de la actividad motora), que son capaces de explicar el 82.37% de la varianza. En segundo lugar, se realizó un análisis discriminante, de acuerdo con el rendimiento obtenido por los participantes en los cinco factores obtenidos en el test AULA, que mostró niveles moderados de especificidad y sensibilidad. Finalmente, se llevó a cabo un análisis de conglomerados con el grupo control y seis grupos de clúster dentro del grupo de niños con TDAH. Los resultados muestran una adecuada validez externa del instrumento AULA, que permite realizar clasificaciones correctas de sujetos sanos y patológicos, confirmándose que proporciona información adicional para el diagnóstico de TDAH, esencial para el posterior diseño de intervenciones clínicas eficaces

Revista del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

Variaciones morfológicas en el cráneo del corzo (Capreolus capreolus L.)Selección de microhábitat en una población de avutarda (Otis tarda) de un medio agrícola.Dieta del meloncillo, Herpestes ichneumon, en el Coto del Rey (norte del Parque Nacional de Doñana, S.O. de España)Alimentación invernal del milano real (Milvus milvus) en la provincia de MadridVariabilidad en las relaciones alométricas entre el peso y las medidas craneales en el ratón de campo Apodemus sylvaticus L. efectos sobre su utilidad en estudios de ecología trófica de aves rapacesVariación estacional de la dieta de machos, hembras y crías de gamo (Dama dama) en Quintos de Mora (Montes de Toledo)Estructura de la comunidad de paseriformes en setos de la provincia de León (N.O. de España).Cytotaxonomy of a cyprinodontid (Teleostei, Cyprinodontidae) population in southwestern SpainPeer reviewe

Gentrification Processes in the City of Buenos Aires: New Features and Old Tendencies

This work reviews the course of gentrification in the city of Buenos Aires, its milestones and modalities, focusing on the conditions in which the gentrification process advances over informal urbanizations, in general, and on Villa 31, in particular. So far, gentrification in Buenos Aires has not advanced throughout all the villas. Instead, gentrification has happened in former working-class neighborhoods which were fully integrated into the structure of the city. However, in the context of full renewal of the north-south riverside axis, the villas along the riverside axis, and very close to the central area, began to be integrated into urban transformation initiatives. Although since the founding of Buenos Aires, there have been plans to completely transform the riverside axis, it was not until the twenty-first century, under the aegis of the development of the new Puerto Madero neighborhood with the intention of extending its benefits that, the threat of gentrification reached into the slums of the city.Fil: Di Virgilio, Maria Mercedes. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin